Stereotype-printing-plate-finishing mechanism.



PATENTED FEB. 17,1903.

H. A. W. WOD.

STEREOTYPE PRINTING PLATE FINISHING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 5. 1902.

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I No. 721,122.

.PATENTBD PEB. 17, 1903. H. A. W. Woon.' STEREOTYPB PRINTINGI PLATE PINISHING MBCHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED SBP-T. 5. 1902.

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No. 721,122; A PATBNTEDFEB.17, 190.3., H. A. W.'WooD. STEREOTYPE 'PRINTING PLATE FINISHING MBGHANISM:

APPLICATION FILED SEPT'. 5. 1902.

THE Nonms Prrzns cc. mom-umn., WASHINGTON. o. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. WISE WOOD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR To THE CAMPBELL PRINTING. PRESS a MANUFACTURING. COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N.

A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

STEREOTYPE-PRINTlNG--PLATE-FINISHING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 721,122, dated February 17, 1903. Original application led March 4, 1898J Serial No. 672,749. Divided and this application iiled September 5, 1902. Serial To a/ZZ whom, it may concern: v

Be it known that I, HENRY A. WISE WOOD, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and `State of New York, have invented a new and useful Stereotype Printing Plate-Finishing Mechanism,of which the following is a specification.

In-my application for patent filed March 4, 1898, Serial No. 672,749, I have shown, de-

ro scribed, and claimed an automatic plate casting and inishing mechanism. I have prepared and filed this application for patent as a division of said original application and claim herein the construction of the plater 5 nishing mechanism.

The invention is' directed, primarily, to .the production of semicylindrical Stereotype printing-plates ready for application to the cylinders of a printing-machine.

zo The-construction of the nishing Inechan# ism which forms the subject-matter of this present application will be best understood by following the construction of the machine as illustrated 'in the accompanying three 2 5 sheets of drawings.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal sectional view of the complete mechanism. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View through the casting-box. Fig. 3 is a detail 3o view illustrating the action of the lifter. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional View taken between the casting and iinishing mechanism, and Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional View through the arch.

Only enough of the mechanism as a whole is hereinafter described to enable the construction of the finishing mechanism to be understood.

The machine as a whole consists of a casting and nishing mechanism, the mechanisms 4o being arranged in a framing A. In this framing are'journaled three shafts 30, 3l, and 76, a clutch 32` being arranged to connect the shaft 3l to the shaft 30 when desired and the shaft 76 being geared to turn with the shaft 30 by means of gears' 77 and 78. At the rear side of the machine is arranged a meltingtank G, in which is placed a pumping mechanism consisting of .two pumps H. Each pump comprises a cylinder 27, which has a (No model.)

series of inlet-ports 210. The cylinders con- 5o neet to the casting-chamber by a channel 23, having a spout 24, which has downwardly-extending lip 25. Arranged in the pump-cylinders are pistons h. A suitable heating device, as a series of gas-burners g, is arranged under the tank. The pump-pistons are operated from the shaft 31 by means of bevel- Y gears 36 and 37,which drive a transverse shaft.

.This shaft operatesv by suitable connectionsv the pistons h.

The casting-chamber is formed by the an` nular space between a core consisting of cylinder B and Aa segmental back consisting of twopivoted parts C and D. The ends of the casting-chamber arestopped off by two halfrings or end pieces E E. The sections C and D are mounted upon shaft 60, which is placed in slots 6 1 in the framing. Mounted on shaft 60 are rollers 62 and 63, which bear on cams 64 and 65, placed on shaft 31. The sections 7o C and D.- have projecting arms 66 and 67, which carry rollers 660 and 670, which bear on cams 68 and 69, mounted on said shaft 3l. This mechanism will close and Open the casi-ing-boxat the proper time and will control the flexible matrix to strip the saine from .the surface of the cast plate and reposition the'same for a succeeding duplicate cast. The half-rings Eand E' have projecting studs which fit into lugs e on the framing. The 8o ring E is generally arranged rigidly in the lugs e', and the ring E' is operated to slightly relieve the end of the plate. The mechanism for doing this consists of a crank-arm 70, engaging ring E and mounted on a Short shaft 71. A crank-farm l2 is also mounted on said shaft, to which is connected a sliding rod 73, having a friction-roller 74 and a spring 700, arranged to keep the roller 74 normally against a face-cam 75, mounted on shaft 76. 9o The plate P, cast in this box,will havea tail p, as shown in Fig. 3, and a shoulderp'. The other edge of the. plate p2 will be smooth. The shoulder p' and the edge p2 form accurate guiding edges, so that the plate may be manipulated as hereinafter described. The cylinder B has two series of grooves b cut therein to form the usual ribs on the inside 125 to a valve 126 in the inlet-pipe.

periphery of the plate. The plate is usually cooled after casting by a cooling mechanisln consisting of a pipe 118, connected to a suitable source of water-supply, which extends through one of the journals into the interior of the cylinder B. An outlet-pipe 119 is arranged in the other journal. An operatingcam 120 is arranged on the end of the shaft 31 and engages a roller 121, mounted on a short crank-arm projecting from a rock-shaft 1200. A crank-arm 122 connects by rod 123 to a valve 124 in the outlet-pipe and by rod Aspring 127 is arranged to keep the roller 121 against its cam. vAfter the plate is cast and cooled the same will be delivered fnom the castingchamber by a half-turn of cylinder B. The cylinder B is turned by a crank 80, mounted on the end of shaft 76 and connected by rod 81 to a pivoted sector 82. The sector 82 meshes with a gear 84, loosely mounted on the hub of cylinder B, which gear carries a ratchet-plate 85. This ratchet-plate by means of a pawl mechanism more particularly detailed in my principal application for patent imparts the proper motion to a pawl-arm 89, mounted on a hub of the cylinder B. The cylinder is locked in its various positions by means of a hub 90, which has two sockets 91 and 92, which are engaged by a roller 93, mounted on an arm 94, as more particularly detailed in my principal application for patent. After the cylinder has turned to carry the plate out of the casting-chamber the plate is lifted from the surface of the cylinder by lifters L and L. The lifter L is arranged on a shaft 111. The lifter L' is arranged on shaft 105. These lifters are operated by a yoke 101, which carries a roller 102, arranged to bear on cam 103, secured on shaft 76. This yoke connects to a crank-arm mounted on shaft 105. The two shafts 105 and111 are connected together to oscillate oppositely by mechanism as shown more particularly in my principal application for patent. After the plate is lifted from the periphery of the cylinder B in this manner it may be slid along the lifters L and L onto the skids or Ways S and S by the following mechanism: Mounted in a groove 128 is a traveler or conveyer Z, which has a small projection or tooth z, which is positioned to bear on the rear end of the plate after the same has been raised by the lifters, and this conveyer or traveler may be operated by the following gearing from the shaft 30: A bevel-gear 129 is mount- `ed on main shaft 30 and meshes with and engages a bevel-gear 130, secu red on a transverse shaft. On the other end of this transverse shaft is mounted a crank-arm 131, to which is connected the rod 132, which rod 132 passes through a suitable guide 133, jou'rnaled on a shaft 134. The rod 132 has rack-teeth 135 formedthereon, which engage a pinion 136,

secured on said shaft 134. Also mounted on this shaft 134 is a gear 137, which meshes with rack-teeth 138, cut in the top of the conveyer Z. By this mechanism the conveyerZ will be reciprocated by a crank actuated mechanism-that is, it is actuated by means of crank-arm 131, which is a desirable mechanism for this purpose, as the same will gradually commence to move the plate and will bring the same gradually to a state of rest. By this means the plate is slid along the lifters L and L and the Ways S and S longitudinally of the cylinder B. As this movement is imparted to the plate the rough edge of the plate and the projecting tail p may be cut olf or this edge of the plate finished by means of a rotary cutter 147, mounted on a short shaft 148. Thus as the plate moves in this direction its edge will be trued. If desired, a similar` cutter may be placed on `the other side of the machine, so that both sides of the plate may be trued or finished, if desired; but the edge p2 is generally accurate enough, as the same is cast from the finish-stripf. As the plate is moved along in this direction it will pass into a dome or arch Y, and the plate will be left in this arch and clamped in position by the following clamping mechanism, which may be actuated from the shaft 30: A rod 139, having a yoke 140 on the end thereof, carries a roller 1400, which bears on a cam 141, mounted on said shaft 30. This rod 139 connects by crankarm 142 to arock-shaft 143, which has small arms 144 projecting therefrom, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. A clamping-strip S2 is arranged in the arch Y so as to be capable of a vertical movement, and the crank-arms 144 projectinto recesses 145 in said clamping-strip. The clampingstrip S2 is arranged in line with the skid or way S when in its lowermost position, so that as the plate is slid into the dome Y it will be brought to the position shown in Fig. 5, and when the clamp S2 is actuated the plate will be tightly clampedl and secured in the dome or arch Y. While in this clamped position the interior of the plate may be trued out by the following mechanism,which may be driven from the shaft 30:

156 designates a shaft which is journaled in the framing and which is geared to the shaft 30 by means of gears 157, 158, and 160, the intermediate gear 158 being mounted upon astud 159. Theshaft156isarrangedsubstantially at the center of the dome or arch Y. Mounted on this shaft 156 is an arm R, which carries a cutter r, arranged to shave or true out the inside of the plate. The cutter r is in its lowermost position when the plate is slid into the dome. As soon as the plate is trued out the clamping mechanism will release the plate, and at the next movement of the conveyer Z a gravity-pawl 146 will engage the rear end of the plate and will slide the plate out onto a horse H2, and this will deliver the finished plat. As successive plates are completed and delivered they will be pushed along out over the horse H2. While on this horse the plates may be examined and touched up by hand, as is sometimes done.

IOO

Thus the entire plate will be cast, finished, and delivered Without any manual operation.

It will be seen that the pumping mechanism,the matrix-manipulating mechanism,and the cooling mechanism are actuated entirely from the shaft 31, so that a plate Will be produced for each complete revolution of said shaft 3l. The remaining mechanisms are driven either from the shaft 3() or the shaft 76. The gearing for driving the shaft 30 and from the shaft 30 the shaft31 may be arranged as folloyvs:

26 designates a power-shaft which carries a tight and loose pulley 27 and 28, by which power may be imparted to the machine. Turning With the tight pulley is a pulley 149, which is belted to a small pulley 1490, mounted on a short shaft, which shaft carries a pulley 150, which is belted to a small pulley 154, mounted on the shaft 153. Also mounted on this shaft 153 is a bevel-gear 1540, which meshes with and drives a bevel-gear 155, secured upon the end of the shaft 148, which carries the cutter 147, and by this belting the cutter will berproperly rotated to perform the function before described. Mounted on the shaft 26 is a Worm 29, which meshes With a Worm-Wheel 290, secured upon the shaft 30, and by this means the shaft 30 Will be driven.

A spring 33 is arranged to keep the movable section of the clutch 32 normally in engagement with the fixed section. Engaging the movable section is a yoke 34, Which is mounted upon a shaft 35, on' the end of which shaft 35 is arranged a suitable operating-lever 117, by which the operator can start the shaft 31 and the mechanism driven therefrom in operation. This handle may be controlled by an automatic stopping mechanism which may be timed so that after the desired number of plates have been cast the shaft 31 will be automatically stopped. To do this, a Worm 112 is arranged on the shaft 31, Which meshes with a Worm-Wheel 113, secured upon a short transverse shaft 114. On the end of this shaft 114 is arranged a disk 115, which has a number of holes. The arm 117 has a projecting arm which extends over said disk 115 to be in line with the holes. A pin T may be placed in any of the holes. By this means the casting mechanism will be stopped when the desired number of plates have been cast, While the nishing mechanism Will continue to operate and deliver the last plate cast regardless of the cessation of the casting operation.

As previously stated, this application is a divisional case in which the claims are limited to the construction of the finishing mechanism.

It has been deemed necessary to describe the machine at length in order that the operation, functions, and relative action of the finishing mechanism shall be clearly understood.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination in a curved-stereotypeprinting-plate-finishing mechanism,of a guiding device along which the curved plate can slide, means for sliding the plate on said guiding device, and a saw for trimming up the edge of the plate.

2. The combination in acurved-stereotypeprinting-plate-finishing mechanism,of a guiding device along which the plate can slide longitudinally, an arch in line With said guiding device, a saw for trimming up the edge of the plate as it moves along said guidingdevice, a shaver for truing up the inside of the plate in the arch, and means for conveying plates along said Ways into and through said arch.

3. The combination in a curved-stereotypeprinting-plate-nishing mechanism,of a shaving-arch, means for automatically feeding a plate into said in said arch during` the shaving operation, andautomatically removing it from the arch after the shaving operation. n

4. The combination in a curved-stereotype*- printing-plate-finishing mechanism,of a shaving-arch, means for clamping the plate therein, means for automatically feeding a plate shaving-arch, and stopping it into the arch, stopping it during the shaving operation and removing it from the arch after the shaving operation.

5. The combination in a curved-stereotypeprinting-plate-finishing mechanism,of a guiding device along which the plate can` slide, a saW for truing or Vtrimming up the edge of the plate as it slides along said guiding device, an arch having a clamp 'in line with said guiding device, a shavingtool concentrically mounted With said arch, and means for automatically' moving the plate along said guiding device into and out of said arch, and for automatically clamping the plate in the arch while the shaving-tool acts.

6. The combination in a curved-stereotypeprinting-plate-finishing mechanism, of a stationary arch, a revolving knife for truing up the inside of the plate, and means for conveying the plate through said arch. l

7. The combination in a curved-stereotypeprinting-plate-flnishing mechanism, of a stationary arch, a clamp for clam ping the plate in said arch, a revolving knife for truing up the inside of the plate, and means for conveying the plate through said arch.

8. The combination in acurved-stereotypeprinting-plate-inishing mechanism,of a guiding device, a saw for truing up the edge of the plate, a dome or arch in line With-the guiding device, means for clamping the plate in the dome or arch, a shaver concentrically mounted With said arch, a delivery-horse beyond said arch, and means for conveying the plate along said guiding device, stopping the same in the arch, and then conveying the same out on the delivery-horse.

9. The combination in a curved-stereotypeprinting-plate-finishing mechanism of a stationary arch, a revolving knife for truing up the inside of the plate arranged concentrically with said arch, and means for moving the curved plate into the arch when the revolving knife is on the inoperative partof its movement.

10. The combination inacurved-stereotypeprinting-plate-finishing mechanism of a stationary arch, a revolving knife for truing up the inside of the plate, and means for moving a curved plate into the arch when the revolving knife is on the inoperative part of its movement, leaving the plate in the arch so that it can be trued, and for then moving the plate out of the arch when the revolving knife is again on the inoperative part of its movement.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

H. A. WISE WOOD. Witnesses:

THos. H. GUNNING, CHAS. STOCKS. 

